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Ship Hybrids
Overview Hybrid vessels are a diverse set of armed oceangoing combatants, which range wildly in terms of form, function, and combat viability. Hybrid vessels can take any of a number of forms, but are generally less viable in combat than more traditional designs. Hybrid vessels represent a compromise between two vessel types, generally inheriting some of the strengths and drawbacks of both parent ships. Types of Hybrid Vessels Battleship-Carrier Battlecarriers are among the most common, and effective hybrid vessels. There are two common formula for this type of hybrid, battleship carriers and aviation cruisers. Battleship carriers, or battlecarriers are large, heavy ships with both guns and a respectable air-wing. The limitations inherent of such designs generally prevent such vessels from taking full advantage of either weapon. Unlike the other two common types of ship, battle carriers can be very durable, fast, and efficient. They also occupy a spectrum of ships which include aircraft carriers which also have a few large guns, and large battleships which pack a number of dive bombers on several catapults. The inherent problem with battle carriers is a conflict of interest between the two parts. Battleships are built to attack, pummel, and subdue enemy surface ships. This requires the ship to close to effective gunnery range, and open fire. On the other hand, aircraft carriers are built to run, once they are far from harm, they can unleash an air wing with unlimited strike range, and lay waste to an enemy. If the ship is mostly battleship, the carrier portion will provide weak areas on the deck which limit the ability to tank damage. If the ship is mostly carrier, the extra guns and armor will slow the ship down, making escape difficult. {However, it is possible to solve this problem by encasing your runways and planes with hull and armor parts. This would make it a bit bulkier, but it would protect most of your air force units (except for the enterence and exit). Plus now you have more surface area for turrets on top of your concealed runways.} {The only problem I haven't been able to solve (and this goes for all hybrids in regards to air units) is the equal division of parts. The ships you can make have a parts limit, and even when you don't include decorative pieces the planes and runways can take up a good portion of your max space. This can make an unbalance of a good sized air fleet but not many cannons, or the other way around. Just keep in mind hybrids have to be balanced to serve both functions equally} Submarine-Carrier Able to submerge while launch aircraft, these ships could be invincible to enemy air attacks. But waiting for all planes to launch then submerges will take some time. The real life Sentoku class or famously known as the I-400 class is classified as a hybrid too. These ships are severely limited in terms of combat capability, so much so in fact that it is generally a waste of a slot in multiplayer. Sub carriers are usually more of a curiosity than a practical weapon. The main concern is that if the ship submerges prior to the air wing being fully launched, the remaining aircraft are rendered inoperable. This leaves a cumbersome and slow ship on the surface for an extended period where it is an easy target. Thus, large air wings are impractical. Cruiser submarines with the capability of launching either a spotter or a catapult launched dive bomber, have been built, but generally suffer from the limitations in terms of speed and agility associated with any large sub. In general subs with runways and large air wings perform poorly as the ability to aim a ship to fire torpedoes is greatly reduced by the lack of agility, and the ability to launch aircraft safely is greatly reduced by the slow speed and low durability such designs tend to have. It is more efficient in most cases to build a small sub and a large aircraft carrier. Battleship-Submarine In theory, combining the strength between Battleship and Submarine would produce a devastator for your enemies and pride for your fleet. In practice, however, submarines require careful balance which can be ruined by even superficial damage. Few subs are robust enough to survive a hit, even with armor. Subs get around this inherent vulnerability by remaining below the waves, and using the ocean as armor. A battle sub, would be designed to endanger itself in order to fire the main armament, generally capital guns, and would not be able to take hits in retaliation. In this manner the ship is by far inferior to a standard battleship, which is built to trade fire with other surface ships. The battle sub also loses out as a sub as larger subs are both incredibly slow due to an inability to add sufficient power, and generally have trouble maneuvering, thus, such a ship would be unable to effectively use torpedoes. Cruiser submarines occasionally carry guns up to 15.5 cm, and can be reasonably effective as a mix between a sub and a surface combatant, such ships rely on large batteries of underwater torpedoes to destroy enemy ships, but may also attack with guns if the situation allows, or against undefended ships such as aircraft carriers.Category:Ship Type Category:Game Related